The Classic Arabic Script - 3 Minute Quran Study: Episode 1

RE-UPLOAD
I've decided to re-upload episode 1 of my 3 Minute Quran Study because I was not happy with one of the visuals. The content as such has not changed.

The Arabic alphabet started out as an "abjad", meaning it only used consonants. Only later did it evolve into an "impure abjad", i.e. a writing system where vowels are indicated by separate diacritics or glyphs, indicators placed above or below the consonant after which the vowel sound is to be read.

But more than that, a distinguishing feature of the Arabic alphabet is its polyvalence. That means that the same glyph can denote different consonants. A problem that was only solved with the addition of diacritical dots (i'jam) which clearly indicate which letter is being used.

However, the early Quranic manuscripts have neither vowel markings nor diacritical dots, they were only added decades if not centuries after the fact, raising the question whether or not we can even know what was originally written.

#Quran #Arabic #Script #History #Education #Religion #3mqs #Islam
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The "3 Minute Quran Study" series is intended to slice the complex historical critical analysis of the Quran into bite-sized chunks that are easy to understand. In my upcoming book, I will explore all these topics in more detail. Followers on Patreon will get regular updates on my progress with this enormous endeavour.

Title music by Darren Curtis.
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